After a torturous 17-month hiatus, Mad Men returns to AMC’s airwaves this Sunday with a two-hour premiere that picks up where season four left off—with Don Draper’s shotgun proposal to his secretary, Megan (Jessica Pare). In anticipation of the television homecoming of America’s favorite ad man, VF.com spoke with John Hamm about his character’s hasty marital pitch, the damage a contented Don could do to Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce, and the possibility of Don and Peggy getting together.

Julie Miller: Congratulations on the new season of Mad Men and, by the way, Friends with Kids [the new comedy written and directed by Hamm’s longtime girlfriend, Jennifer Westfeldt, in which he co-stars]. Aside from making the movie, how did you spend your hiatus?

Jon Hamm: That was pretty much it. [Laughs.] We produced that thing, raised the money, shot it, post-ed it, and that was a long haul. It ended up pretty great, though, as great as it could have been. It’s been performing well in theaters, and we’re really excited about it. I did a few other things, too—went over to England a couple times and saw a movie and a play. I shot a couple episodes of David [Cross’s] show The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret. I was able to keep myself busy, so that was good.

And now you’re back to Mad Men to pick up where that surprising season-four finale left off. What did you think when you first read that script?

I knew it was going to be controversial—maybe that’s not the right word—for a lot of people. I was thrilled, though, and happy for our guy. I’m glad that he has found some happiness in his life and that he’s at least trying to be happy. He spent a whole season trying to be miserable. Let’s end on an up note. Try that for a while!

What do you think he sees in Megan, exactly?

She’s young, positive, and upbeat, and he hasn’t had that with a lot of women in his life. I thought one of the most interesting scenes in that finale, though, was the one with Betty [Don’s ex-wife, played by January Jones], when he tells Betty that he’s getting remarried. January was wonderful in the scene, but it was also an interesting thing that she had to realize that this is what living a lie is. And it’s not a one-way street.

That was heartbreaking to watch.

It was an interesting range of emotions, obviously, watching these characters. [January and I] have known each other for quite some time, and we’ve acted opposite each other for about four seasons now, so it was an interesting thing [to shoot]. I think you had the right word, though—it was heartbreaking, but on we move.

I really enjoyed seeing Don Draper in vacation mode during the Disneyland trip. Did Don just need a vacation all this time, and will he be more relaxed this season because of it?

[Laughs.] I don’t know if relaxed is the right term, but maybe content, and that’s something that we see in Don for the first time. I think that’s a tricky thing to be when you’re ostensibly trying to move a company forward and get [your employees] motivated. I don’t think that’s necessarily the best thing to get people fired up. Don is not as jazzed to do work as he once was.

[Mad Men creator] Matt Weiner has said that the show almost ended after season four. Would you have been at peace with the series ending after that finale?

Obviously it wouldn’t have been up to me, but yes. It’s nice that we have the opportunity to do more seasons and to finish in a more definitive way. Had the show ended that way, that would have been a choice. I’m glad we have the opportunity to do it a different way.

You also direct for the first time this season. How stressful is it to direct a show when you are in nearly every scene?

It actually did surprise me because I thought that I was going to be stressed out, exhausted, and freaked out—“I’m going to have to direct and act, and I’m already in every scene. Holy cow.” But it was invigorating and kind of exciting! That kind of offset all of the other parts. For that, it was great. It was also an incredible learning experience. I was just happy to get the opportunity to see the show from a completely different perspective.

Is it strange that some people, men especially, seem to idolize Don Draper even though he’s not the picture of moral perfection?

It’s a little strange. You shouldn’t be lionizing this guy or at least holding him up as a paramount of virtue. I don’t think people do that as much as they find him interesting and find the character compelling. And other than that, I guess it’s his style.

I was surprised to find out that there is speculation about Don and Peggy [Elisabeth Moss] getting together.

I don’t think that [is a possibility] at all. I think the Don-Peggy relationship is more of a kindred-spirit kind of thing. I think that what both Don and Peggy have in their makeup is a raw ambition. Don’s trying to escape this Depression-era life and past and move into a life of expansive cosmopolitan existence through the sweat of his own brow and, honestly, through the duplicitous nature of his existence. I think Peggy is also escaping the close-minded, parochial existence of where she comes from for what Manhattan represents—a bigger, brighter, better life. I think that Don identifies that in her and tries to help cultivate it. There is a tenuous but strong relationship there.